Rat Rod Noob

Hey guys, Im Ben and well I have built me a few cars from a rolling chassis but they all have been imports..i have always been into old cars and well i live in a city and have met a few people (65 impala) at my work and we have been talk about rat rods and all..but now im lookin to build me a rat rod, been lookin at a 28 tudor body. But im a lil scared about getting into. i can tell that there is alot of work in it. I have found a body, but i would really like some imput on this is a good start. http://classifieds.castanet.net/showproduct.php/product/376998/cat/150 thats the car. well body... no frame, i somewhat think its a lil pricy but im just not sure.. any imput would be great. And what kinda frame could i use for that or would i have to get one built or build one. My cousins a welder so i wouldnt have any issue with fab and metal work. I have to say that my biggest worries are the frame and steering. Any imput would be FANTASTIC...


Ben

 

It's not a rat rod site. Fuck me, don't you guys pay ANY attention before joining?

 

Hmmm me thinks you wont last long around here, welcome to the HAMB "rat rod" noob

 

I feel your pain. Maybe Ryan should make a sort of test/survey you have to take before getting the priveledge of joining and spurting off. If the RR word is used at any point during the test/survey your network address/home comp url is blocked from accessing the join page for awhile. Maybe administrator approval before being allowed to join and start posting immediately to the classifieds or making worthless threads about, "Where do I get that old car smell that is in a new spray can for my RR?".

The only other board I am a member of requires that your posts and threads contribute to the site and they do a hellavah job of policing over there also. Many of the best threads on the HAMB come from them first. Its quite a bit quieter and more of the old feel I used to have of the HAMB. There I am member #341. Here I am member #59625 get the point I am making?

Membership has seemed to explode on here in the past 4-5 years. I lurked (started in 02") for a longtime before joining in 08' and can see why there are so many OLD SCHOOL HAMBers (01'-03') that are lurkers now. Kinda interesting.-Weeks

 

Crikey!
lucky I have never said "RR".
A body as good as the one in your link would fetch about $8500 Aus or $5500 US here in Australia seems like a good deal to me.
They guys here are a bit fussy about topics, just search and think before you ask and you will find a wealth of knowledge, and the next thing you know you will be dreaming of shiny black paint.

 

Not gettin' any easier is it mate ?

 

This is a rat rod....... This is a rat rodder....... These are rats.

 

I sort of live in my own little world like most people ( HA HA)
Is it possible that the general public just thinks any vintage tin is a ratrod because of the media?
Perhaps they are just not educated on the difference?
Maybe they say rat-rod for the entertainment it provides us? you know old school HAMBers in disquise as a fng.
Its very hard to google anything automotive related and not have jalopy journal come up on the first page.

 

Well there is this Read This First!

I'd think that would catch them....

 

now that's funny!

 

Ah yes, but do they read it? Do they comprehend? Do they give a shit?

 

wow this is gay, you know i thought this site was cool, 65 impala said i should check it out ask some questions.

a) i understand that this isnt a rat rod site. its all about old cars. ( im not a retard)

b)i didn't join to just yap off and shit the bed, i was looking for advise, seeing if where i was going was worth it.

c) Im a mod on another car site, yah i know to you guys wow that dont mean shit. But when someone like 65 impala says hey check out there site you will get lots of answers. and then when you do you get shit on. its Perty lame. On the site where i am a mod, we welcome new members, even if they use stupid terms such as rat rod, or if they even ask were they can buy head lamp fluid.

Thxz Brendan1959 for the imput cuz thats really what i was looking for, not to get shit on by some guys that think they are top shit.

31 vicky, ha ha i forgot to laugh. Have you ever noticed how often a narrow mind and a wide mouth are attached ?

you know whats funny i bet that none of you guys have read what zman posted, you all should give that a good read.

"Even if you have come here for all the right reasons, don’t expect posting to be easy. We don’t cater to new fellas unless they show a dedication to spreading this tradition of ours first. We welcome young, old, foreign and all – but our original members and our staff expect a certain level of respect and an effort to keep things true and on topic."

you know i followed all the rules, everylast one, and i ask a few questions to learn, and i do understand that you guys have a way of doing things, but is using the term rat rod really that bad.

Last thing i would like to say before i get banned, is that i just wanted some answers to a few questions. I dont know all. I figured that around here asking questions is a good way to learn. At least thats what i have always been taught.

 

just remember first impressions are everything. To me a good hand shake a your name means alot. Since I didn't shake your hand, your name and first statements are all I have to go by and your selected first title killed it for alot of other members here. Sorry dude, you thought it was a cool title, but any new member with the name RAT or thread title anything is gonna get flamed and flamed hard. Best advise, I can give you is close this session and open in a new thread and begin over again, any thread title will do axcept anything that has the name RAT in it and then when you introduce your self eliminate the term RAT, Rat Rod from your vocabulary. You might have a chance.

 

Rat rod around here is a very bad word. yes its that bad or worse.
65 impala has been here for a couple years and knows this.
Tell him you opened the hamb door and said ratrod, see what he says.

 

The hamb is a wonderful gateway into traditional cars. So what if someone with talent's interest is piqued by the "Rat Rod" craze, that's what the public sees and knows. Once they dive in they learn pretty fast, or not at all. My bet is BenS will end up allright.

BenS just keep an open mind and weather the initial banter, it's worth it. Don't mind the flaming, everyone gets it. I got it bad too. Everybody is just tired of "Rat Rod" you know? It gets labeled to everything from Duesenbergs to s10's. So let it go and welcome to the HAMB buddy.

 

WHO CARES what someone wants to call their old car? I love this site and I get what it is about but MANY of the cars pictured and owned by people on this site, the GENERAL PUBLIC would consider a "rat rod". Primered, unfinished, works in progress, etc.....To most, it is a "rat rod" even if the owner does not want to call it that. Who Cares ????

The only thing more annoying than someone coming here and calling a car a rat rod is all the people who cry and freak out about it.

 

ok that is what i will do. i was raised with the term and well i didnt see anything bad from it

 

Welcome

 

And that body looks to be in pretty good shape. Alot of those panels are easily available if they need to be replaced. The price isn't that bad either. PM me if you need any halp finding parts or tech. Peace

 

I have the same reaction to the term RR that I get when a woman is called the C word. It is just bad taste and generally from a person who is educated or knows better will not get a good reaction or a shrugg of the shoulders (such as I have noticed with my generation) and their bullshit DGAF mentality. I was not talking directly to you. I hi-jacked your thread and was actually having a conversation with X38. Good luck with the other site you mod. You could have looked here for answers or also have read some of the other newbies threads to get an idea of approach.-Weeks

 

I used to play in a band that wore make-up and hairspray etc.......I don't scream when people called us a "Hair Metal" band. Or should I and say we were a "theatrical based Hard Rock Band" ??? It is just a title or a word. No need to freak every time someone uses the term.

 

I'd hope that people wouldn't go to a hair metal show and bitch about the bands being hair metal bands...

If they did, they would look as foolish as someone who, lets say, comes to a traditional hotrod and custom site and then complains when people get upset over something that isn't traditional... know what I mean? To each their own and all that shit, but the new guys really need to read the FAQ before they get their panties in a bind because the members of the site don't like whatever it is they are saying.

Ben, welcome to the HAMB and prepare for your re-education haha. Have fun, I'll send you an invite to the Canadian Members group

 

Welcome, the term doesn't bother me either, I don't really use it but it is sure to piss off folks who have invested most of their lives and/or money into their cars.

There are lots of self serving people in the world, some are bound to end up here, just don't pay any attention to them and build what you want - they don't have to drive it.

 

haha i am ready for some re-education. i could go for it. im willing to learn anything that people are willing to teach me. im not into doing things half assed, i like things done the right way.

 

welcome Ben

 

You know what i think i have clued in to what erks them about the "rr". I have spent the past 10 years build hondas, none have had the massive body kits that you see or the 19" rims. they have all been just back to stock with a few extra things here and there, and i have had people call them "Ricers", which drives me up the wall... SO i do see where you guys that dont like the term "RR", I didnt get it at first, but i understand. Its all part of this re-education.

Thank you.

 

Welcome Ben... from your statement above, you will do just fine man.

Build a solid, well thought out, no frills hot rod out of that '28. If you are worried about the steering and the chassis - find someone near you that is a builder and either ask a ton of questions or have them build a rolling chassis for you.

I think that the real issue that HAMBers have with the term Rat Rod is that it brings to mind images of exactly what you say you are not into... Half-assed, poorly built, unsafe, crap.

good luck muchacho.
- Joe

 

Hey I hear ya, I still have a build road race Probe GT with a T3 Turbo V6 I built, bought new strictly for building a road racer out of - 60k miles on it.

I also have a mild offroad Jeep, just finished my '50s cruiser and am now working on a roadster.

Some people have a car passion that transcends just hotrods, some are stuck in one era. It's like saying you only listen to music from 1964 - you don't know what you're missing.

 

I also have plenty of other motorized passions the afflict me. They just dont belong on the HAMB so I dont bring them here.
There are plenty of places for that, numerouse ones for each. This aint one of them.
This is the only place for pre-64 traditional hot rods and pre-64 tradtional hot rods only.

 

OK. well here is my take on this Rat Rod thing. 1st there are people on the HAMB that are driving them and still get mad when you call it a rat rod. If we are really trying to be traditional and drive what a teen would have driven back in the day then we need to understand that they worked on their cars every weekend and always had plans to finish them. They worked hard and spent every penny they had to make them better. Now today many of us have the cash and the know how to finish them but we choose to leave them rough in the name of tradition. Tradition is misunderstood or seems to stand still in some cases. So what is a rat rod and why is it so bad? For "ME" a rat rod is one that is built from the parts that are so bad (rusty , beat up) that no body would use them to build a nice car. So what is so bad about putting some cars on the road that would have been crushed normally? Nothing as long as they are safe. Now I know there are some out there that try to build a car to be as stupid as possible and have no idea of what safe is. I am not talking about those guys. SO HERE IS MY POINT. Try being nice once in a while. Some of you guys flaming so hard are probably hiding behind the Internet where no one knows that you never built a car anyway. Some of you have fantastic skills and are willing to post stuff that really can help someone learn. Lets try that some more. When I built my Model A there was no such term as Rat Rod. I called it a Hot Rod and now it gets called everything you can think of. I even had a woman at a gas station call it a dune buggy??? Welcome the new guys....we want this old car thing to continue to grow.